Three bucks won't break anybody

Star-Ledger File PhotoEight counties already charge a $3 fee for some records filed with county clerks -- mortgages and deeds, for example -- and funnel the money toward homeless programs. Other counties are mulling its implementation.

We all understand the state’s housing market remains in the tank, and we’re poorer for it. Foreclosures keep piling up. Personal wealth, dependent upon home values, has deflated. Sellers are desperate, buyers are rare. Agents, appraisers and others who depend on the home market are struggling. Many have switched careers.

Still, we were stunned by criticisms of a $3 fee on mortgages, deeds and other records filed with county clerks. The money — already charged in eight counties and being proposed in several others — would be funneled into programs for the homeless.

Essex County administrator Joyce Harley said the three bucks “could have a chilling effect on the housing market.”

A chilling effect? Really? Three dollars?

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this West Orange four-bedroom is certainly a bargain at $550,000, and you haven’t blinked at the $17,000 in annual property taxes. But to register your deed, there’s going to be a $3 fee.”